Ave maris stella

Description

for SATB choir (with soprano solo) and strings or keyboard This beautiful and moving piece in seven sections combines text from the Ave maris stella antiphon and Psalms 26 and 106. Starting and finishing in a mood of peace and certainty, the work is structured around a turbulent middle section anticipating the gathering storm. Orchestral material and vocal scores are available on hire/rental.

Ave maris stella

Composer Information

Cecilia McDowall (b.1951)

Educated at Edinburgh and London Universities, Cecilia McDowall has been described by the International Record Review as having a 'communicative gift that is very rare in modern music. An award-winning composer, McDowall is often inspired by extra-musical influences, and her choral writing combines rhythmic vitality with expressive lyricism. Her music has been commissioned, performed, and recorded by leading choirs, among them Phoenix Chorale and the Choir of New College, Oxford, and is regularly programmed at prestigious festivals in Britain and abroad.

Ave maris stella

Reviews and Awards

"Ave maris stella is a splendidly original (because it is so obviously meant as a composition) setting for solo soprano, chorus and string orchestra ... a Britten influence may be found here but only in passing and I mention this to try to urge McDowall's 'Englishness' upon you - I love it, and I think you will, also." - International Record Review, March 2005